To Tweet or not to Tweet?

Tweeting the Bard

Shakespeare in 140 characters or less

“Brevity is the soul of wit,” after all.  Whether you leave us bedazzled or in stitches, we wait with bated breath for your attempts to reduce a Shakespearean gem into a modern tweet.

Here’s how:

• Select one of the following: summarize a play or sonnet OR illustrate the essence of a character or scene.
•  Make sure you note which scene, character, play, or sonnet you are choosing.
•  Place your entry into the correct category: Histories, Comedies, Tragedies, or Sonnets.
• Entries may be no more than 140 characters. This is challenging!
•  No coarse language, sex, gore, or violence. Keep the rating G—PG-13 as children or teens may be reading. 

Winners will be chosen based on imagination, craftsmanship of language, accuracy, and poignancy or humor as best fits the chosen category, character, etc.
Winners will be chosen based on imagination, craftsmanship of language, accuracy, and poignancy or humor as best fits the chosen category, character, etc. 

Send your entries to shakespeare400@brentwoodtn.gov.  Subject line: Tweet. Include your name and contact information; category; scene, play, character, or sonnet; and the entry itself.  Twitter formatting not required.  

The deadline is April 27, 2016. Winners will be announced April 30th.

Examples:

Much Ado about Texting

 Much Ado about Texting 

If Shakespeare and his characters texted, what might happen? Foul play or fair? Pomp and circumstance? Toil and trouble? Might someone wind up in a pickle?

Devise your own scenario! Play it for laughs, keep it real, or wear your heart on your sleeve. Just do it by texting. In particular, come up with funny or failed texts and share them with us.

Here’s how to enter: 

• Select one of the following: summarize a play, summarize a sonnet, pick a character(s) to tweet as or about, or choose a scene to illustrate with a text.
• Make sure you note which scene, character, play, or sonnet you are choosing.
• Place your entry into the correct category: Histories, Comedies, Tragedies, or Sonnets.
• No coarse language, sex, gore, or violence. Keep the rating G—PG-13 as children or teens may be reading. 
• Winners will be chosen based on imagination, craftsmanship of language, accuracy, and poignancy or humor as best fits the chosen category, character, etc.

Send your entries to shakespeare400@brentwoodtn.gov. Subject line: Text. Include your name and contact information; category; scene, play, character, or sonnet; and the entry itself.  Text formatting is not required.

The deadline is April 27, 2016. Winners will be announced April 30th.

Examples:

Tragedy: Macbeth, ACT 1, iii

Tragedy: Lady Macbeth

Writing Your Life Stories

 

Writing Your Life Stories

Tuesday, March 22, 6-8pm

 Workshop fee: $20

Register here.

Instructor: Randy Rudder 

Some people simply want to write their life stories to leave a legacy for their children; others are concerned about self-expression; still others would like to publish a memoir or autobiography. In this workshop, we first discuss the purpose for writing, and then identify the best vehicle for that purpose. 

This workshop covers the four formats to life writing: memoir, essay, autobiography, and creative nonfiction. Learn to cultivate the stories of your life and assemble them in a proper format, as well as how to appropriate fictional techniques such as plot, theme, dialogue, character, setting, and tone to your stories. 

Randy Rudder has been a college English professor, freelance writer, writer/producer with the Christian Broadcasting Network, and author.  He has written for Nashville Lifestyles, The Nashville Business Journal, Country Weekly, Bluegrass Unlimited, American Profile, and many other publications. He is also the author of The Country Music Reader (2007) and Chicken Soup for the Soul: Country Music edition (2011).

For questions, call Brigid Day at 615-371-0090 ext. 8510, or brigid.day@brentwoodtn.gov.

Freelance Writing for Websites and Magazines

Freelance Writing for Websites and Magazines 

Tuesday, October 27, 6:00-8:00 PM

Presenter: Randy Rudder

Class fee: $20. Registration Required.

This workshop covers generating story ideas, writing strong query letters, researching and identifying markets, doing interviews and even some bookkeeping/tax information for setting up a home-based writing business.

Randy Rudder has been a college English professor, freelance writer, writer/producer with the Christian Broadcasting Network, and author.  He has written for Nashville Lifestyles, The Nashville Business Journal, Country Weekly, Bluegrass Unlimited, American Profile, and many other publications. He is also the author of The Country Music Reader (2007) and Chicken Soup for the Soul: Country Music edition (2011).

Register here, call Brigid Day at 615-371-0090 ext. 8510, or e-mail dayb@brentwood-tn.org.

Freelance Writing for Magazines

Have you considered writing for a magazine? Wondering if you have what it takes?

Join instructor Randy Rudder on Tuesday, November 4th from 6-8pm for a workshop that covers generating story ideas, writing strong query letters, researching and identifying markets, doing interviews and even some bookkeeping/tax information for setting up a home-based writing business.

Randy Rudder has been a college English professor, freelance writer, writer/producer with the Christian Broadcasting Network, and author. He has written for Nashville Lifestyles, The Nashville Business Journal, Country Weekly, Bluegrass Unlimited, American Profile, and many other publications. He is also the author of The Country Music Reader (2007) and Chicken Soup for the Soul: Country Music edition (2011).

Click here to register for this workshop or call Judy at 615-371-0090 ext 8510

Note: 10 person minimum to hold class.

Writing Workshop: Writing Your Life Story

This workshop covers the four formats to life writing: memoir, essay, autobiography, and creative nonfiction. Learn to cultivate the stories of your life and assemble them in a proper format, as well as how to use fiction techniques such as plot, theme, dialogue, character, setting, and tone. 

Date: Thursday, October 3
Time: 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Class Fee: $20.00
Registration: Online - Click Here

Literary Lecture: Hardboiled Detectives in Hammett, Chandler, and Parker

Though it has its roots in those mythological heroes who risked everything to bring the innocent safely out of the Underworld, the modern detective novel is a uniquely American invention. Marilyn Fisher, Ph.D. discusses the works of Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and Robert B. Parker and their influence on American detective writing. Readers will enjoy hearing selected passages and learning about each writer's style, while aspiring writers will learn skills about writing detective short stories and novels from these master writers.

Date: Thursday, May 9
Time: 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Fee: $20.00
Registration: Online - Click Here

Basics of Self-Publishing Workshop

This workshop covers the four primary types of self-publishing: traditional self-publishing, subsidy publishing, vanity, and print-on-demand. Learn the benefits and disadvantages of each approach, as well as the time and financial investment required for each. Resources will be provided for people who choose to go forward. 

Date: Monday, April 29
Time: 6:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Class Fee: $20.00
Presenter: Randy Rudder
Registration: Online - Click Here

Workshop: Freelance Writing for Magazines

If you're an aspiring freelance magazine writer, we have the perfect workshop for you. This one-session workshop covers a wide variety of topics: Generating story ideas, writing strong query letters, researching and identifying markets, doing interviews, and even some bookkeeping/tax information for setting up a home-based writing business. Seats are still available, so please register on our website.
Date: Monday, April 8
Time: 6:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Class Fee: $20.00
Registration: Online - Click Here

Children's Creative Writing Class Series

Encourage your child's love of writing! Jennifer Trafton will help young storytellers in grades 3 - 5 improve their creative writing skills. Jennifer's debut novel, The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic, received a starred review in Publishers Weekly and is a nominee for Tennessee's 2012 Volunteer State Book Award.

Each class will be different, and students may come to one class or all 4. Classes will be held every Thursday in March from 4:30-5:30, and the class fee is $15.00 per class. Each student must register online, and there is a maximum of 10 students per class.

Painting with Words: Thursday, March 7^th

A good writer is in love with words--the way they look, the way they sound, and the way they come together to make pictures in our imagination. Writing helps us see the world in new ways, like an artist. In this creative writing workshop, kids will be "painting" pictures with words, then using their word-paintings to  practice descriptive writing that uses all five senses.
Click here to register

The Music of Words: Thursday, March 14^th

Discover how words whistle, whoosh, gallop, sizzle, and splash! This poetry workshop will explore the wonderful noises words make as we play with rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, and onomatopoeia.
Click here to register

Treasure Maps: Thursday, March 21^st

Where can you find the Last Dinosaur's Funny Bone? How do you get to the Gruesome Pit of Grossness? What lies hidden in the Place Where Stories Are Born? Fantasy lovers will enjoy this opportunity to draw a map of their own imagined world, then hide a treasure there and write creative directions to avoid pitfalls, encounter adventures, and find the X that marks the spot. 
Click here to register

Creative Creatures: Thursday, March 28^th

This creative writing workshop is all about animals! Kids will draw their own fantastical creatures, then learn about fables and "Just So" stories in order to write short tales about the animals they've invented.
Click here to register 

Writing Your Life Stories

 Some people want to write their life stories to leave a legacy for their children. Others are concerned about self-expression, and still others would like to publish a memoir or autobiography. This workshop covers the four formats of lifewriting: Memoir, essay, autobiography, and creative nonfiction. We also cover how to cultivate the stories of your life and format them properly, as well as how to use the techniques of fiction, such as plot, theme, dialogue, character, setting, and tone.

Date: Monday, October 1
Time: 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Place: Meeting Room B
Class Fee: $20.00
Registration: Online - Click Here

Basics of Self-Publishing Workshop

This workshop covers the four primary types of self-publishing: traditional self-publishing, subsidy publishing, vanity, and print-on-demand. We will cover the benefits and disadvantages of each approach, as well as the time and financial investment required for each.

Date: Monday, September 24
Time: 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Place: Meeting Room B
Cost: $20.00
Registration: Online - Click Here

And the winner is...

Congratulations to Cindy Chambers! She is the winner of our Summer Reading Program short story writing contest. Cindy's winning story, "Left Behind in the Library," has a spooky beginning and a heart-warming ending: A teen girl who is locked in the library overnight helps a lost little girl--who has been dead for over a hundred years! Click here to read Cindy's story.

Writing Your Life Story

Some people simply want to write their life stories to leave a legacy for their children; others are concerned about self-expression; still others would like to publish a memoir or autobiography. In this workshop, we first discuss the purpose for writing, and then identify the best vehicle for that purpose.

This workshop covers the four formats to life writing: memoir, essay, autobiography, and creative nonfiction. Learn to cultivate the stories of your life and assemble them in a proper format, as well as how to appropriate fictional techniques such as plot, theme, dialogue, character, setting, and tone to your stories.

Date: Monday, July 23
Time: 6:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Class Fee: $20.00
Registration: Online

Freelance Writing for Magazines

This workshop covers generating story ideas, writing strong query letters, researching and identifying markets, doing interviews and even some bookkeeping/tax information for setting up a home-based writing business.

Date: Monday, July 16
Time: 6:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Class Fee: $20.00
Registration: Online

Basics of Self-Publishing Workshop

This workshop covers the four primary types of self-publishing: traditional self-publishing, subsidy publishing, vanity, and print-on-demand. Learn the benefits and disadvantages of each approach, as well as the time and financial investment required for each. Resources will be provided for people who choose to go forward. Randy will teach two more writer's workshops at the library this month: Freelance Writing for Magazines and Write Your Life Stories.

Date: Monday, July 9
Time: 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Place: Meeting Room A
Class Fee: $20.00
Instructor: Randy Rudder
Registration: Online

Help! I've Got a Book in Me!

Date: Tuesday, March 20
Time: 6:30 - 8:00 PM
Place: Meeting Room A
Cost: Free
Registration: Register online

Most aspiring writers are not aware of what is happening in the publishing industry that is almost completely closing the door to new,unpublished, and un-agented writers regardless of genre. Neither do aspiring authors understand much about the opportunities in and even advantages of self-publishing, e-books, publishing straight to or solely to eReaders like Kindle. Come to this free seminar to learn more!

Writing Workshop: Point of View

Date: 10/12/2011
Time: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Instructor: Dr. Marilyn Fisher
Class Fee: $20.00

One of the most important decisions writers must make is what point of view (narrative perspective) they will use in their stories or novels. Dr. Marilyn Fisher will explain the role of the narrator (or author), and four major types of points of view and their characteristics. In addition, she will talk about the advantages and disadvantages of each, touch on stream of consciousness technique, and use handouts illustrating point of view during the discussion. To register, please call Robyn Zandi at 371-0090 ext. 8510 or send an e-mail.

ESSAY WRITING CLASS

Wednesday, October 5
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Instructor: Dr. Marilyn Fisher

Writing a formal expository essay clearly and coherently is often a required skill, both in the academic and professional worlds. The class will discuss the following topics. What is an essay? What are the most common rhetorical patterns used by thinkers and writers? How is an essay developed? What is the role of Internet research? And finally, what is a useful basic model for an essay, which once learned and practiced, can be applied to any situation where a serious response to a subject, using careful organization, correct choice of words, and well- written sentences is called for? Dr. Fisher and the class will look at several essays by well-known contemporary writers as examples.Class fee: $20.00. To register, please call Robyn Zandi at 371-0090 ext. 8510 or send an e-mail.